1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a ship, specifically a naval vessel, with several decks, preferably located above one another, which decks are supported on longitudinal beams running in the longitudinal direction of the ship and framework girders running transverse to the ship.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The installation and removal, specifically of rather large components, is becoming increasingly difficult on ships especially because of an increase in packing density of equipment to be installed inside modern naval vessels. This becomes even more important, the farther inside the ship the components in question must go and the bigger the components become. It is known that access openings and access routes especially designed and aligned can be provided for this purpose inside the hull of the ship.
For each different type of ship, the access openings and access routes must be determined and established in time-consuming tests, on the basis of the equipment, apparatus, pallets, etc., to be installed. This results in a series of disadvantages, both in the area of design and fabrication.
One of these disadvantages consists of the non-uniform dimensions of the access openings which must fit the type of ship and also must take into account strength requirements for the ship on the one hand, and the access routes which are required by the positioning of the equipment, apparatus, etc., on the other hand. As a result, in many cases access openings cannot be located vertically above one another. In many cases, only welded access openings can be considered, and this results in limitations on the maximum size of components to be incorporated, which necessarily has a negative impact on the development of large functional units to be introduced into the ship.
On the occasion of the initial assembly of apparatus and equipment in a ship, with weldable access openings, for example, there are problems during fabrication, because spaces, compartments, etc., can only be completely finished after the final pieces of equipment have been introduced. Only then can the access openings be welded shut.
If apparatus and equipment must subsequently be removed and replaced for repair, conversion, etc., the secondary costs, for example, for the removal of welded access openings and the clearance of access routes, or the removal of pieces of insulation, pipelines, pipe hangers, cables, etc., often come to several times the cost of the removal and replacement of the equipment to be replaced, strictly speaking.
Furthermore, the welding work required to free the access paths can lead to a deformation of the hull of the ship and, under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to move and/or re-adjust ship-reference equipment, for example weapons, sensors, machines, etc.